Knowledge . Efficiency . Management
Read on about: Optimising Help Desk Applications
Help Desk Software uses e-mail to keep both Operators and Contacts informed. E-mail is used:When actioning a Job you have the choice of sending an e-mail to the Contact and the Operator the Job has been assigned to.To mail a list of overdue JobsHelp Desk Software supports the following e-mail clients:Outlook ExpressOutlook 98Outlook 2000Eudora (you must enable Automation from Eudora Options menu)Lotus Notes *Novell Groupwise *Other MAPI compliant e-mail clients.*depends on versionAlternatively, you can select SMTP and you don't need a local email client.The system defaults to using Outlook (Express, 98 or 2000) as your e-mail client. If you have one of the other e-mail clients installed, select Tools, Personal Preferences from the main menu and select your mail client from the list.Change the name of the Custom fields
Most windows display two custom fields which can be renamed and allow you to store up to 255 characters in each field. To rename these fields (see custom fields).Remove the Custom fields from my windowsIf you don't use some or all of the Custom Fields, you can prevent them from being displayed by setting their names to blank (see custom fields).Hide Customer or Department information if you don't use itHelp Desk Software uses a hierarchy of:CustomersDepartmentsContactsDepending on whom you are supporting, you may not need all of these levels. For example if you are a small company, Customers and Department may not be relevant to you as you only have one. In that case you can specify your Organization Structure and the system will hide the irrelevant information.NB any views that you created before changing the Organization Structure may still show e.g. Customer or Department information. But you can remove these columns yourself (see Data Views)Temporarily delete Customers, Departments, Contacts, Operators etc.
Deleting records is permanent and when e.g. you delete a Customer, all related records are deleted as well. This will obviously affect your reporting. Sometimes you might want to disable e.g. a Customer or Operator so that they can't be used. To do this you will need to open the database in the relevant tool and update a record manually. Most tables in the database have a column named Deleted. Normally this is set to 0. To disable this record, set the value to 1.For example, to hide a particular Customer, open the Customers table, locate the Customer record you wish to disable and set the Deleted value to 1. You can do this for Customers, Departments, Contacts, Operators, Assets, Asset Types, Categories and Prioirities.Use Function KeysThe following function keys are available:F1 - HelpF2 - View History *F3 - New JobF4 - New Item F5 - Edit ItemF6 - Delete ItemF7 - Create Child Job *F8 - View History **only available on Jobs-Detailed, Jobs-Summary and Jobs-Operator Activity views.
Spell CheckWhilst entering information in most fields, you can perform a spell check by pressing the F7 key. You must have MS Word installed for the spell checker to work.How to ... (Record and Manage Helpdesk Jobs)Show a list of JobsTo see a list of Jobs, open the System maintenance folder in the tree view and select either the Detailed or Summary icon:As the name implies, the Detailed view shows everything there is to know about a Job, including all related information such as Customer address details. Obviously, the more information the system has to retrieve the slower retrieval may be. You may find it better to use the Summary icon instead.You can then do one of the following:Create a new JobFile menu, New JobF3 or F4Right click on Data View and select New JobAction an existing Job
F5Right click on Data View and select Action JobView Job (same as Action Job, but can't edit)File menu, View JobRight click on the Job then select View JobPress F2Delete a Job(s)Highlight one or more Jobs then:File menu, Delete JobF6Right click on Data View and select Delete JobCreate a Child JobFile menu, Create Child JobRight click on the Job then select Create Child JobPress F7Show HistoryFile menu, Show HistoryRight click on the Job then select Show HistoryPress F8Create a new Helpdesk Job
Once you have logged in, you can create a new Helpdesk Job by one of the following methods:File menu, New JobF3Right click on Data View and select New JobF4 when showing Jobs Detailed, Jobs Summary or Operator Activity Data ViewsIf you are on a Customers View and have highlighted a particular Customer, creating a new Job will display the new Job Window and automatically select one of the Contacts from this Customer (actually the first default Contact for this customer - see Contact Window).If you are on a Department View and have highlighted a particular Department, creating a new Job will display the new Job Window and automatically select the default Contact for this Department.If you are on a Contacts View and have highlighted a particular Contact, creating a new Job will display the new Job Window and automatically select this Contact.If you are on an Assets View and have highlighted a particular Asset, creating a new Job will display the new Job Window and automatically select this Asset.Edit/Action an existing JobOpen one of the following Data Views from the tree view in the main window:Jobs - DetailedJobs - SummaryJobs - Operator ActivityHighlight a Job in the Data View, then do one of the following:File menu, Action JobRight click on the Job then select Action JobPress F5This will display the Job Window.Re-open a previously closed Job
A closed Job is one that has been previously marked as completed. If you have the appropriate privileges you may re-open a Job.Open one of the following Data Views from the tree view in the main window:Jobs - DetailedJobs - SummaryJobs - Operator ActivityHighlight a Job in the Data View, then do one of the following:File menu, Action JobRight click on the Job then select Action JobPress F5After confirming that you wish to re-open this job, the Job Window will be displayed.Create a Child JobA Child Job is one that must be completed before the Parent Job can be completed. Use the Jobs - Detailed view to identify Parent/Child JobsParent Job Id ValueMeaningEmptyNeither a parent or a childSame as own Job IdThis is a parent JobDifferent to own Job IdThis is a child JobTo create a Child Job, open one of the following Data Views from the tree view in the main window:Jobs - DetailedJobs - SummaryJobs - Operator Activity
Highlight a Job that you wish to become a Parent in the Data View, then do one of the following:File menu, Create Child JobRight click on the Job then select Create Child JobPress F7You can also create a Child Job whenever you are on the Job window, by clicking the 'Save and create Child Job' button. NB, it is not possible to have 'grandchild' Jobs, i.e. if a Job is already a Child of another Job, it cannot become a Parent.Show Job History without Actioning itOpen the System maintenance folder in the tree view and select either the Detailed or Summary icon, then highlight a Job and do one of:
File menu, Show HistoryRight click on the Job then select Show HistoryPress F8View a Job without Actioning itOpen the Jobs folder in the tree view and select either the Detailed or Summary icon, then highlight a Job and do one of:File menu, View JobRight click on the Job then select View JobPress F2
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